From Computers in Libraries 2010:  Generation X librarians bridge the varied, and often conflicting, attitudes, ideals, and expectations of the multi-generational library. Leading fearlessly from the middle, Gen X librarians are paving the way for the modern library to emerge, by championing innovation, mediating change, and translating cultural norms between generations within the workplace. Librarians from two universities identify best practices of Gen X library leaders, describe the unique skills and strengths of Gen X librarians, and offer their predictions on the professional legacy of this influential generation.

Lisa Carlucci Thomas, Digital Services Librarian, Southern Connecticut State University
Karen Sobel, Reference & Instruction Librarian, University of Colorado Denver
Nina McHale, Assistant Professor, Web Librarian, Library Information Technology, Auraria Library, University of Colorado Denver Auraria Library

Lisa Carlucci Thomas posted the video from this session on Vimeo. Be sure to check it out.

Lisa also posted links to her slides and table of contents. You can also follow Lisa on Twitter @lisacarlucci now.

This year, at Computers in Libraries 2012, you can hear Lisa on Thursday, March 22 from 4-5:00pm in session E205: Changing Role of Systems Librarians.

Author Neil Gaiman Uses Award
Speech to Support Libraries

Neil Gaiman, 49, is the first person ever to have been awarded both Britain’s Carnegie Medal and the US Newbery Medal – considered the two most important children’s literary awards – for the same book.

Accepting the award in London yesterday, Gaiman said: “Libraries are our future – to close them would be a terrible, terrible mistake – it would be stealing from the future to pay for today which is what got us into the mess we’re in now.

“In this austerity world it’s incredibly easy if you are a local authority and you are looking for cuts, to say ‘Let’s cut libraries’. But that’s borrowing from the future.”

Neil Gaiman says closing libraries would be ‘a terrible mistake‘ – Telegraph.

Computers in Libraries 2010 ran smoothly for both attendees and organizers down in Crystal City, VA back in April. However, as educational and entertaining as it was, there is always room for improvement.

Welcome to CIL2010

Like any good conference, Computers in Libraries is all about meeting the needs of you, the attendees!  Because of this special focus ,there are five things you can do, every year, to help us make the event better and better.

1. Check out the CIL2010 presentation materials.  If you missed session that you really wanted to hit, this is a good way for you to at least get a peak at what you missed.
2. Most Computers in Libraries presenters are social creatures. Connect with your favorite speakers.  Many of the presenters at CIL2010 have listed their social networking address in their speaker profile like Jill Hurst-Wahl.  Let them know if you enjoyed their session. Many attendees found Twitter to be an invaluable way to get their post-conference questions answered.
3. Send a shout out to the conference chair.  At CIL2010 you probably never spent more than two hours without being within shouting distance of Program Chair, Jane Dysart.  Jane is always approachable on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn and if you have an idea to improve the content of next years program, she is the woman to tell.  Telling her your ideas now allow her the time to look into your suggestions for next year’s event.
4. Get involved and share your voice.  This year we had 31 1/2 bloggers at the conference this year (Maurice Coleman has so much to say he needs not one, but two blogs!).  Many of their posts helped shed light on topics that could only be lightly covered in a single session.  If you will be blogging from Computers in Libraries (or even Internet Librarian 2010) please let us know so we can get your blog listed here at LibConf.com and we want to get you one of those nifty Blogger ribbons for your conference badge.  We know that the folks  blogging at Comptuers in Libraries have more to say year round so you can find links to their latest posts right here.  (And it is not just because I never miss Brian Herzog’s ‘Reference Question of the Week‘.)
5. And finally, give some feedback to the behind the scenes folks.  The conference organizers are the ones out there making sure your speakers have Internet access when they need it and they make the hotel dial back the air conditioning when someone tweets: “The Potomac is FREEZING!”.  These people are running around like crazy during the conference and it is only after it is all over that they can take a deep breath and try to figure out how it went.  The one and only way they have to get your feedback is via the Computers in Libraries 2010 attendee survey.  There are only nineteen questions but they are finely crafted to make sure the ITI organizers know what worked, what did not work, and what is most important to you!  Also, I’m just saying…, you could be the winner of the $50 Barnes and Noble gift card just for filling out the survey!  That could come in really handy when you need to buy reading material for your flight to Computers in Libraries 2011.

Jane Dysart messaged me earlier on Twitter and bounced over the idea about using the #CIL2010 TwapperKeeper Notebook to create a Wordle.  I took one look at all the tags and abbreviations and realized that would be messy, but her idea sounded fun if we just used the Twitter ID’s of those who used the #CIL2010 hashtag.

This Wordle is made from  the Twitter ID’s of everyone who used the #CIL2010 tag 5 times or more whether they were in attendance or not (yea, I mean you Tom Bruno/@oodja).

Twitter@CIL2010 - Click for full size

During Computers in Libraries 2010 we used QR Codes as an easy way for attendees to grab the URL’s for the many bloggers at the conference. For some folks, this use of the two dimensional encoding squares was old hat, and for others it was their first time seeing this 16 year old technology in action.

Name that Blog?

After years of use in Asia, QR Codes use is increasing in the US as a direct result of widespread adoption of smart phones with bar code scanning capabilities like Android powered phones and the Apple iPhone. The simple codes we used are just the beginning of what QR Code technology can express. The code on the right provides a link to the website of one of the Bloggers@CIL2010 – if you don’t have a phone with a barcode scanner, you can use one of the free online decoders like this one from ZXing.

Mark Sprague has written a very comprehensive post outlining QR technology and its many extensions and uses. Some of the designer codes he showcases are very cool. There are even QR codes with embedded graphics or company logos. I’d like to also thank Paula Hane, one of the LibConf bloggers and News Bureau Chief at Information Today, Inc. for featuring Mark’s post on Facebook since that is where I first saw it.

Read it at Understanding QR Codes.

Earlier today Karyn Silverman, aka @InfoWitch asked for suggestions on archiving all her Computers in Libraries 2010 tweets.   Kate, aka @itsjustkate wondered about the same thing since her method involved using print screen to get hers into reports.

@InfoWitch's Question

I was about to suggest to them both that they use the TwapperKeeper.com #CIL2010 archive when the alert that @InfoWitch’s export was ready.

While Twitter’s own internal search has improved overtime, its still best suited for small result sets and there are times when it is simply not available or working in a scaled back, near real-time mode.  Services like TwapperKeeper are great because they start gathering the archive the moment someone creates the Notebook.  In the case of #CIL2010, I create it around noon on December 16, 2009 so it has tweets with that hashtag going back to before the conference, and then through the conference, and right up to @InfoWitch’s request this morning.

Even if all you want are your own Tweets, the TwapperKeeper notebook is a good choice.  The Notebook may contain thousands of entries, but the downloaded version is in CSV format so its child’s play to apply a filter in Excel, Open Office, or Google Docs to limit the rows to your own.

If you are going to an event or just want to have easy access to an individual’s Tweets, just head over to TwapperKeeper.com and start a notebook.  One of my personal favorites is the @FakeAPStylebook notebook I created to ensure I didn’t miss any of their snarky gems.

JD Thomas
Tech Support Manager
Information Today, Inc.

Maurice Coleman of T is for Training podcast and (almost) Bald Trainer Blog sums up his second and third days at Computers in Libraries 2010 and this years offerings for teachers and trainers.

My Computers in Libraries experience tends to blur after the first full day of the conference, but here are some of my impressions from those last two days of the conference.  My conference tweets from CIL can be found at @confbaldgeek This is my happy recap of the last two days of the conference. …

At some point at CIL or right after CIL (2009),  a group of T is for Training folks discussed what changes we would love to see at the Computers In Libraries conference, including tracks that focused on Training/Learning.

Read on at Impressions of Day Two and Three of CIL2010 « (almost) Bald Trainer Blog

David Ferrerio talks with (L) Jane Dysart and (R) Donna Scheeder

Computers in Libraries 2010 Keynote speaker, AOTUS David Ferriero posted in his blog on why the National Archives did not also acquire the Twitter archive.

Have you heard the news? This week, the Library of Congress announced that they are acquiring the digital archive of public tweets. On April 14, @librarycongress tweeted, “Library to acquire ENTIRE Twitter archives — All public tweets, ever, since March 2006!” Congratulations, Library of Congress.

via AOTUS: Collector in Chief » Tweets: What We Might Learn From Mundane Details..

I overheard the end of one of the sessions that mentioned the Google Fusion Tables (I can’t remember who was speaking or I’d credit them here).  Thanks to Jason Clark for mentioning GoogleLab’s Fusion Tables in a session; that mention led to this map.

People@CIL2010

I decided to play with it using the CIL2010 Registration database sans identifying information.  Once I used BatchGeo.com to convert the City, State, Zip, Country table to geocoded columns it was a piece of cake to create a map of the people who helped make the 25th annual Computers in Libraries conference such a great event.  The map is now online at People@CIL2010.

At the close of the Exhibit Hall, Tom Hogan announced the final attendance: 2,115.  Thanks to everyone who attended and contributed to the success of CIL 2010.

Now our thoughts are turning to CIL 2011, which will return to the former CIL venue: the Washington Hilton.  The Hilton was recently purchased and has been extensively remodeled.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Don Hawkins
Columnist, Information Today and CIL 2010 Blog Coordinator